Pin opening device



March 5, 1935. R. B. BAKER 1,992,984

PIN OPENING DEVICE Filed Dec. 1, 1933 Patented Mar. 5, 1935 PATENT orrics 1,992,984 PIN OPENING DEVICE Ralph E. Baker, Chicago, Ill.

UNITED-STATES Application December 1,

1933, Serial No. 700,465

1 Claim; (01. 81 a and put the clothes of every class in a separate net washing bag and pinning the bags with safety pins carrying identification'marks, so that nothing is lost or misplaced during the washing operations. The pins used for this purpose are large, heavy safety pins. It has been learned, from experience, that laundry operatives prick their fingers on the pins, especially when opening them, and furthermore, it has beenfound that after the bags have been through the washing operations, it"is oftentimes difficult to open the pins. 7 The injuries to'the operatives is expensive in time lost for first aid and also in time lost because of difficultyencountered in attempting to open the filled pins which, because ofthe wetness ofthe pinned material or the compactness with ,which the pins are loaded, precludes ready opening.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel device for readily opening closed safety pins which, because of the lack of strength of the operatives, or resistance to opening because of the strength of the pins, would otherwise be difiicult.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel tool which readily opens safety pins and which is also useful as a tool to force the pinned materials away from the guard, to facilitate opening of the pins.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool which may be applied to a closed safety pin and which by a rocking movement about the fixed wire of the pin pries the extremity of the free pointed wire away from the guard.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combined lever and inclined plane structure which, by a rocking movement when applied to a closed safety pin, moves the point out of and laterally away from the guard.

Another and still further object of the invention is to provide a novel device for opening safety pins, which is economical to manufacture and efficient in use.

Generally speaking, the invention contemplates a lever or pry constructed to have a hooked end for engaging over the free wire of the pin, and having an inclined intermediatepart to bear against the fixed wire of the pin so that when the structure is rocked about the fixed wire, the extremity of the free wire is moved out of and away from its engagement with the guard, and when the structure is-removed from the pin, the pointed end assumes its open position.

. The above, other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following de-: scription, accompanying drawing and .appended claim.

The accompanying drawing illustrates an em-- bodiment of the present invention, the views thereof being as follows:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a safety pin with a lever or pry constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, shown as applied to the closed pin and showing the relation of the parts prior to any movement of the lever for opening the pin;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through a safety pin and showing the lever rocked to withdraw the point from the guard. This-may be termed the second step .in the opening process.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the point moved laterally away from the guard and with the lever rocked to a greater extent than shown in Figure 2. This may be termed the third step.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the pin and lever as the same appear in Figure '1.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the pin I and lever of step 3, that is, as the parts appear from Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an elevational view of a safety pin having materials pinned thereon, and showing the device of the present invention astraddle the pin for forcing the materials away from the guard of the closed pin to facilitate opening.

The drawing will now be explained:

The heavy, stiff safety pin here illustrated consists of the usual coil of spring wire bent to provide what is herein termed the fixed wire 1, and the free wire 2, with the usual loop 3 incidental to safety pin manufacture. The extremity of the free wire is pointed at 4 for penetrating purposes. A guard, designated generally at 5, is secured to the extremity of the fixed wire 1 and has the usual recess 6 for receiving the pointed end 4 of the free wire 2. g

The tool or device of the present invention, herein illustrated, is fashioned from a length of wire to provide a hooked extremity '7, an inclined intermediate portion 8 and a handle 9. The wire is so bent, in fashioning the handle 9, as to provide a closed loop defining a recess or opening 10 through the handle of the device. The device or tool is so fashioned that the distance from the point 11 of Figure 1 to the point 12 of Figure 1 is less than the overall distance or width of the outer margins of the wires 1 and 2, of the pin, when the pin is closed.

The tool of the present invention is of the character of a lever of the first class, with the inclined portion 8 constituting that part of the lever which engages the fulcrum, the hook 7 constituting that part of the lever which is represented as connected to the weight, and the handle 9 represents the application of power to the lever. The inclination of the portion 8 constitutes apart which, when the lever is in use, serves as a sliding fulcrum or a part for slidingly engaging the fulcrum, to provide the compound action of the hooked extremity '7 for carrying out the purposes of the present invention. a

The tool is applied to a closed safety pin in the manner illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, that is, with the hook 7 engaging over the free wire 2, preferably near the guard 5, and then the tool is rocked about the fixed wire 1 as a fulcrum, and in a direction transverse to the length of the pin, which rocking motion first of all pulls the point 4 out of engagement wtih the recess 6, as may be observed from Figure 2, and then continued rocking movement of the device, moves the pointed extremity laterally, as may be observed in Figure 3, so that it will escape the portion of the guard forming the recess 6, so that when the tool is removed, or released, from the pin, the pointed end will spring upwardly out of engagement with the recess 6.

The tool is simple to construct and efficient in use, as it very readily lends itself to the accomplishment of the purpose intended.

Sometimes a pin is so heavily loaded with materials, that access to the guard is difiicult. To clear. the guard for opening of the pin, the tool or device may then be applied astraddle over the pin, as shown in Figure 6, With the recess 10 of the handle portion straddling the pin, and thus the tool becomes useful to force the materials, designated at 13 in Figure 6, away from the guard, that is, towards the loop 3 of the pin, so that the tool may then be removed and applied to the pin in the manner illustrated.

After the pin has been opened the hook may be inserted in the closed end of the pin and the pin withdrawn by pulling on the tool, thus eliminating injury to the operator.

The tool may be used to close the pin by operation of the tool in the reverse manner from that described for opening the pin. This feature is especially desirable whenever the pointed wire is crowded, making ready hand closing difiicult.

The invention has been described herein more or less precisely as to details, yet it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereby, as changes may be made in the arrangement and proportion of parts, and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention- The invention is claimed as follows:

Means for opening stiff safety pins of the type used in laundriesconsisting of a tool having a hooked end and a curved shoulder spaced therefrom with the distance therebetween less than the distance between pin wires when the pins are closed and adapted to be applied to a closed safety pin with the plane including the hook and shoulder substantially perpendicular to the plane of the pin wires, said curved shoulder being formed as an obtuse angle and said hook being formed as an acute angle, and a part of the tool forming the obtuse angle shoulder extending away therefrom and serving as a fulcrum and adapted on oscillation of said tool for engaging the fixed wire of a pin in a plane perpendicular to the pin wires to move the pin point first towards the fixed wire in substantially the plane of said wire and point when the pin is closed and then laterally out of said plane to free the point from the pin guard.

RALPH B. BAKER. 

